Rhinitis is an inflammatory disease of the nose and is reported to affect up to 40% of the population. It is the fifth most common chronic disease in the United States. The most common and impactful symptoms of rhinitis are congestion and rhinorrhea. Allergic rhinitis accounts for up to 65% of all rhinitis patients. Allergic rhinitis is an immune response to an exposure to allergens, such as airborne plant pollens, pet dander or dust. Non-allergic rhinitis is the occurrence of common rhinitis symptoms of congestion and rhinorrhea. As non-allergic rhinitis is not an immune response, its symptoms are not normally seasonal and are often more persistent. The symptoms of rhinitis include a runny nose, sneezing, and nasal itching and congestion.
Allergen avoidance and pharmacotherapy are relatively effective in the majority of mild cases, but these medications need to be taken on a long-term basis, incurring costs and side effects and often have suboptimal efficacy. For example, pharmaceutical agents prescribed for rhinosinusitis have limited efficacy and undesirable side effects, such as sedation, irritation, impairment to taste, sore throat, dry nose, and other side effects.
There are two modern surgical options: the delivery of thermal energy to the inflamed soft tissue, resulting in scarring and temporary volumetric reduction of the tissue to improve nasal airflow; and microdebrider resection of the inflamed soft tissue, resulting in the removal of tissue to improve nasal airflow. Both options address congestion as opposed to rhinorrhea and have risks ranging from bleeding and scarring to the use of general anesthetic.